The Blue Jays (7-3) couldn’t come through in their home opener, but salvaged the series by winning two of the next three to earn a 2-2 split against Chicago.

My Thoughts:

Aaron Hill may be out for another week or so, but it seems as though Adam Lind still has some protection in the line-up. The Jays’ heart of the order is playing like any good heart of the order should, with No. 2 hitter Alex Gonzalez (.349 average), No. 3 Lind (12 hits and seven RBI) and No. 4 Vernon Wells (.465 OBP) all providing consistent hitting. In last night’s 7-3 win, the trio combined to go 7-14 and added four RBI and two runs.

How long can the ‘convert Brandon Morrow to a starter’ experiment last? Granted, pulling the plug after just two starts may be a knee-jerk reaction, but Morrow has a 12.00 ERA and has shown few signs of snapping out of the funk. What’s troubling about his struggles is that he isn’t simply blowing up in a single inning. In Wednesday’s 11-1 loss, Morrow allowed seven runs over four-plus innings, surrendering runs in all but one frame. How long will it be before a guy like Brett Cecil or David Purcey gets a look in his place?

During the White Sox series, I found myself drawing some pretty strong links between Alex Rios’ time in Toronto and Hedo Turkoglu’s experiences thus far. Both Rios and the Toronto Raptors’ free agent signee of last off-season underperformed after receiving large contracts, had their dedication questioned at times and looked bad after getting involved in bizarre fan altercations. The difference is age: the White Sox were willing to assume the contract of a 28-year old who still had upside, while it remains to be seen if anyone wants a 31-year old NBAer in what is a young man’s league.

It may not have been his place to comment (like that matters!), but White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen wasn’t wrong in chastising Toronto fans for an embarrassing lack of support that saw a record-low 10,610 fans take in Wednesday’s game at Rogers Centre. The Jays’ outlook this season may not be rosy, but they are a team headed in the right direction who are off to a strong start. Let’s hope Wednesday’s poor turnout was more anomaly (it also happened to be the Raptors’ final home game and the first night of NHL play-offs) than a pattern going forward.

I know it’s not technically a thought on this past series, but I like the Fred Lewis trade. Lewis, who was acquired yesterday from the Giants in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations, doesn’t bring any power to the table, but can get on base and possesses deadly speed (consider him a better-hitting Joey Gathright). For now, he bumps Jeremy Reed back to the minors and becomes the team’s fourth outfielder, but he could see some at-bats in place of Jose Bautista.

Up Next:

The Jays continue their homestand tonight when they host the struggling Los Angeles Angels for a three-game set. Toronto’s Shaun Marcum and LA’s Jered Weaver will start the opener.